Objective The case for steering climate finance towards gender equality is clear but needs to be more widely known and understood. Inequalities impose development costs on whole societies, more so as people struggle to contend with climate change. Sustainably addressing gender-differentiated needs will require the full spectrum and orchestration of private, public and multilateral capital. This session, in the format of a one-hour panel discussion with moderator-curated questions followed by Q&A session, will discuss the issue of gender equality and climate finance in the Mediterranean region and share lessons learned on best practices on the topic. More specifically, the panel will focus on:
- Insights from International organizations and Donors: OECD and SIDA have largely targeted the nexus Gender and Climate Action in these last years: what the key lesson learned and which missing actions to be taken for a more effective Climate Finance?
- Possible solutions in terms of Gender-lens investments on Climate: At which extent the experiences of 2xCollaborative and 2xChallenge criteria could led to more effective gender-lens investments on Climate? Which role could the financial institutions and private funds play in the Gender Climate Finance
- How to improve the cooperation with the national governments to ensure more effective gender-responsive National Climate Action plans? Which the role of multilateral organisations and private actors?
- Which concrete actions the Cop27 should towards a gender-oriented Climate Action?
Background As strongly pointed out by the recent OECD publication Supporting women’s empowerment through green policies and finance, gender equality and environmental goals are intrinsically linked and mutually reinforcing and finance is a powerful tool for addressing inequalities rooted in the gender-environment nexus. But both goals can be effectively achieved only if all the key actors agree on the assumption women are agents of change for a sustainable and just green transition. The Lima Work Programme on Gender (LWPG) was first established to advance gender balance and integrate gender considerations into the work of Parties to achieve gender responsive climate policy and action (Decision 18/CP.20). A similar call for a greater resource mobilization can be found in the Agreed conclusions of the 66 UN Commission on Status of Women (March 2022). While the recent integration of gender considerations into key multilateral climate finance mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund, are steps in the right direction, gender considerations have yet to be effectively mainstreamed in ongoing climate change programmes and activities as well as national planning. Recent progress in multilateral finance mechanisms, in terms of gender policy, needs to be supported and expanded to cover the private sector as well as market and non-market finance mechanisms at national and global levels. The need to significantly increase gender-responsive investments in the framework of climate change policies and programmes, will be among the key pillars of the upcoming Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening the role of Women in Society adopted last 26 October in Madrid.
Speakers
- Mr Håkan Emsgård, Swedish Ambassador to Egypt
- Mr Michael MULLAN Economist/Policy Analyst, Environment Directorate Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)
- Ms Sunita Pitamber, Associate Director, Access to Services and Gender Mainstreaming, Gender and Economic Inclusion, EBRD
- Ms Ellen Brookes, British International Investment (2xCollaborative)
Moderator: Ms. Anna Dorangricchia, Programme Manager Gender equality, Union for the Mediterranean
